Street stop signal



Aug. 19, 1930. w. A. HINES l STREET sToP SIGNAL Filed Nov. 20. 1926 [N VENTOR ATTORNEY f Patented 'Augn 19, 1930 UNITanvk 'STATES WILLIAM A.. HINES, oFjWIcHITA, KANSAS, AssIerNoit,` BY ivrnsinASSIGNMENTS,Y To

y i "11j/'73,488

OFHCE THE STANDARD TRAFrrcjMAnKER ooMrANmoF WIGHITA,` KANSAS, A CORPORA- TIoN oF KANSAS- Y d, STREET STOPy SIGNAL fAppiication'fuaNovemher zo,1926.,"seria1`i\r0.149,53411 This invention relates tothat class of sig nals used to indicate that astop or retardation of speed of vehiclesv must befmade at a road or'street intersection. f'

Stop lines atl street intersections, that is painted lines` onthe pavement of the street,

ordinarily indicate to on coming drivers that a stop must be made before crossing the panel standing upright in the vstreet to cauc l zo I' street.'A `Traicsoon obliterafes this line, so it becomesnecessary to frequently repaint it.

My invention' consists ofv a flexible sign or tion the on coming driverthat he should come to a stop or at least decrease speed before crossing the' street intersection'. The panel` is removably anchored in the ground so that;l

when it becomes worn orv deteriorates it can be taken up anda new panel immediately substituted 'without tearing up the Street or holding up trafic for any appreciable length of timefwhile repairs are'being made.v I pre'- fer 'to provide bending shoulders for the panel so that when the panelv is bent over-5 the bent portion can lie againstfa curved shoulder' support therebylirniting the liabilityof cracking the panel. I have, also, provided clamping bars for the panel which vcan be secured to it as a part of the unitary structure, removably secured in an anchoring slot and rigidlyheld against accidental displacement,V

by anchoring clamps. There are other novel features of the invention which will be speciiically referred to hereinafter,` reference be ,ing had to the accompanying drawings in which Y Fig.` l is a perspective view of the front end of a motor vehicle showing a front wheel in Contact with the Sign ready to tilt it.

, Fig.2 is a perspective view of the sign complete and l sign. Y p v In carrying out my Invention I provide a slot .or trench 1 in the ground and at the respective ends of the trench I embed 'two transversally disposed anchor blocks 2 and 3.

. Eachanchor block has a threaded opening 4 to receive a threaded end vof an anchor bolt to 4 be hereinafter referred to. "The sides ofthe Fig. 3'is a cross-sectional view through the trench or lslot receives the'base consist# ing ofclamping bars 5 and 6 which have ser? rated inner faces resembling ce'irrugations 7 together by the' bolts, the base consisting of the clamping bars 5 and Gis wedge-shaped because thebars are thickest at theirupper portions. vThat is5- the sides' of the base con# verge downwardly,i consequently whenlthe unitarystructure is dropped into the Aslot or trench it will tend to wedge therein,the Wedg ing action" being augmented by clamps ,con-

sisting of `clampingy bars ll andv 12andthe bolts 13 and '14C which pass through them with their threaded ends engaging"-the threaded p'ortions'i; of theanchor blocksgQ. and T3; the

lengths ofl which are greater than the width of theslotfor trenchv 1.* The clamping bars ll and'12i are, preferably,`slightly counter@ Sunk'in the upper edges of the clampingbars 5. and 6 as indicated at yl5 `and 16'. These lbars j can readily bridge the between the clamp y n ing bars.becauseitheendsofuthe clamping bars A.

extend beyond the ends of the panel'9. y l

In" actualvpracticethe sign panel9 will be ofv suchwidth that thefwheelsof the vehicle maystraddleit; butthere lwill be times when careless drivingv will causethe wheels'to ride overthe panelbf This would tend'to crack the panel unlesssome means was yprovided. to refy lieve the bendingf'strain.z Therefore,y Thave provided' the upper edges.' of the members- 5I and. 6, atftheir innerfaces; with curved Shoulfl derzportions.1T-andjl the curves .being generated onV arcsequal to the normal curvature of the bend ofthe'. panel wheny itlisfbent over. Therefore, the panel will bend against a rigid' curved shoulder, to`relieve' strain. Thebase l consists. 'of the two bars 5 and 6, flaredkat its rtop and forms a groove to catchdirt so that whenthe, unitaryrstructure is lifted fromthe 'slot or trench any accumulatedv dirtagainst, y

thepanel Will come withit; leaving ythe trench cleanse lthat the unitary' sign Structure'k can-be ,insertedlintheslot or trench. It is ralso to v be noted that any dirt accumulating in the slot will act as a cushion for the panel when' the panel is bent over against the shoulder.

It is to be understood that the flexible sign panel 9 will ultimately wear out so that a new one must be substituted from time to time. This can be accomplished by loosening the bolts 13 and 14. and lifting` the unitary sign structure from the slot. The panel may consistof rubber reenforced by a fabric 19 and the panel is preferably'tapered in crosssection so that the upper end 2O is narrower than the base. having the upper end of the panel lighter than the base so that it will tend to spring back to a vertical position after the wheel has passed over it.

;Any appropriate indicia may be on either or-both faces of the sign panel and any appropriate color may be employed for the panel. g

In actual practice the unitary structure, consisting of the flexible panel and the two clamping bars, is first fastened to the base members 2 and 3 by the clamping bars 11 and 12 and the bolts 13 and 14. The whole connected structure is then ready to be embedded in the street'pavemengusually conface of the street paving. f

Vfhen it is desirable to replace a worn sign, it will only be necessary to remove the bolts 13 and 14 from engagement with the blocks 2 and 3, liftV out the unitary structure and the clamps 11 and 12. Then a new unif tary structure can be dropped into the trench Vorslot 1, formed bv the first sign element andl since its base will be like the base of the rst sign element from which the slot 1 was formed,it Vwill be apparent that it will it tight in the slot and that it can be rigidly heldin the slot by the clamps. The time required to take outl the wornsign and replace itwith anew one will be so short that it will be practically unnecessary to hold up trallic to any Y appreciable extent while theV change is being made. This is important because it will not be necessary to block off the street while making repairs'toV the signs.

This is for the purpose of ing bars permanently attached to opposite i sides of the lower edge of the panel.

3. As an article of manufacture, a stop sign unit comprising a flexible panel and clamping bars permanently attached to the opposite sides of the lower edge of the panel, the outer faces of the bars being inclined so that when they are fastened to the panel they constitute a wedge. i y

4. As an article'of manufacture, a stop sign unit 'comprising a flexible panel and `material permanently fastened betweenV the bars, ground embedded blocks and means for removably fastening the base to the blocks.

7. In combination, agrooved ground engaging basel having a yflared groove at its upper longitudinal edge, ra panel of flexible material, means for fastening the panel in `the groove in spaced relation to the sides thereof, ground embedded blocks and bolts securing the base to the blocks.

8. In combination, a grooved-ground engaging basefhaving a flared groove at its upper'longitudinal edge, a panel of soft ilexible material, and means for fastening the panel in the groove with the sides of the panel spaced from the sides thereof.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

WILLIAM A. HINES.

What I claim and desire to secure by'Letters Patent is Y. 1. In combination, a grooved ground-engaging base having a flared groove in its upper longitudinal edge, and a panel of flexible mate-rial in the groove and spaced from the side thereof, ground embedded blocks, transverse clamping bars engaging the base and bolts securing the bars tothe blocks.

2. As an article of manufacture,.av stopsign unit comprising a flexible panel and'clamp- 

